EDITOR'S NOTE:This is the fourth in a series of position breakdowns for the Navy football team following spring practice.

It's impossible to overstate the importance of the quarterback in Navy's triple-option offense. He's the trigger man responsible for reading defensive formations, checking plays at the line of scrimmage and distributing the football.

Wrong decisions by the signal-caller prevent the triple-option from working properly.

Navy has a stable of talented quarterbacks, all of whom are extremely inexperienced. Rising junior Zach Abey was forced into action much earlier than expected due to multiple injuries in 2016.

Tago Smith opened the season as the starter and lasted just over a quarter before suffering a season-ending knee injury. Backup Will Worth took over and played far better than anyone could have imagined, posting eye-popping numbers while leading Navy to a berth in the American Athletic Conference championship game.

Worth went down in the second quarter of that contest with Temple, sustaining a broken bone in his foot. That suddenly put the spotlight on Abey, who was supposed to have spent the season learning the offense pressure-free as the third stringer.

Abey made his first career start in the Army-Navy game and predictably struggled, throwing two interceptions in the first half. The Archibshop Spalding product performed much better in the Armed Forces Bowl, accounting for 273 yards of total offense and three touchdowns in a shootout loss to Louisiana Tech.

Abey is far from a finished product, which was obvious at times during spring practice. The Pasadena resident often drew the ire of offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper for not running plays correctly or making poor decisions. There were other times when Abey operated the offense at a high level and looked good.

Jasper has proven a master at training Navy's quarterbacks, molding players of all shapes, sizes and skills into effective triple-option conductors. Jasper has all of August training camp to get Abey ready and you can bet he will.

Behind Abey are a bunch of quarterbacks with absolutely zero varsity experience. Classmate Garret Lewis entered spring camp as the backup and solidified that standing over the course of four weeks. Plebe Jonah Llanusa received the first meaningful practice repetitions of his young career and showed flashes. Fellow freshman Jacob Harrison also began the arduous process of learning the triple-option.

Then there is Malcolm Perry, who is listed as a starting slotback on the depth chart, but would be immediately back in the mix if something happened to Abey. In terms of running the football, the fast and elusive Perry might be the most dangerous quarterback at the Midshipmen's disposal.

PROVEN COMMODITY: Zach Abey – It's tough to say that someone with two starts under their belt is proven, but Abey is the only Navy quarterback that comes close to fitting this description.

Being named Navy's Most Valuable Player of the Armed Forces Bowl was a real confidence-boost for Abey, who is a powerful runner and possesses a strong arm.

"I would say Zach has proven himself. He's been through some tough times and gutted it out," Jasper said. "I think the season ended on a positive note for Zach. I think he proved he could move the offense."

Jasper has challenged Abey to learn the offense inside-and-out between now and the Sept. 1 season opener at Florida Atlantic. All the quarterbacks have been given study guides to immerse themselves in during the summer.

"It's my job to make sure these guys all know the offense. Zach, more than anyone, needs to know exactly what's going on out there," Jasper said. "I just want the kid to have confidence, and that will come from knowing the offense. It's up to Zach to spend the summer watching videos, studying the playbook and reviewing the tests."

Jasper also wants Abey throwing passes as often as possible in order to improve his completion percentage in 2017. "Accuracy and touch are a major concern with Zach," the veteran quarterbacks coach said.

QUESTION MARK: Malcolm Perry – This rising sophomore isn't a question in terms of talent, but rather with regard to whether he will even play quarterback for Navy in 2017.

Perry spent the first half of spring camp practicing at slotback before switching to quarterback. The Tennessee native will continue to cross-train during August drills, but the hope is that he'll be able to focus on slotback once the season starts.

"Malcolm will be an emergency guy. For now, Malcolm's home is slotback. However, he could possibly see some time at quarterback," Jasper said. "If we feel we need a lot of athleticism out there, we might throw him in there. Malcolm could go in and spark the offense if necessary."

ON THE RISE: Garret Lewis – Jasper had high praise for the spring performance of Lewis, who showed marked improvement in every area. Unfortunately, the Alabama native went down with an injury in the second-to-last Saturday scrimmage and missed the last two week of practice.

Niumatalolo was kicking himself for not putting Lewis in a yellow jersey for that particular scrimmage session.

"Ivin told me the day before Garret Lewis got hurt that we should put him in green. He said Garret had done some good things and shown enough. I told Ivin I wanted to see just one more day of live work out of him," Niumatalolo said. "That one injury hurt our whole team because our backup quarterback missed two weeks of practice."

Jasper was impressed that Lewis had not conceded the starting job to Abey and was competing to overtake his classmate on the depth chart.

"Garret is out to get Zach. This might be the first time in a while we've had a true competition," Jasper said. "I was very impressed with Garret in the meetings in terms of answering questions. He was real sharp mentally-wise."

NEEDS TO STEP UP: Jonah Llanusa – After missing almost the entire 2016 campaign with a broken hand, Llanusa is a little behind the eight ball. Most Navy quarterbacks get their feet wet as freshmen by playing in junior varsity games and Llanusa missed that opportunity.

Not surpisingly, Llanusa did some good and bad things during spring camp – displaying speed and athleticism in breaking a few runs, but also making some boneheaded plays.

"Jonah hasn't played football since November, 2015. He missed an entire year of football.

Obviously, he was very rusty," Jasper said. "Jonah has shown some flashes. The kid has all the tools. It's just my job to refine them."

Jasper was frustrated by the fact Llanusa seemed to take a step backward toward the end of spring practice. The freshman fumbled several snaps and forced some throws during the final Saturday scrimmage. Consistency is the key word for all the quarterbacks, especially Llanusa, who was impressive while serving as the starting quarterback at the Naval Academy Prep School in 2015.

"Jonah had a great scrimmage last Saturday, but he went backwards the past few days," Jasper said after the April 1 scrimmage. "The main thing is getting the snaps. If you can't take the snap properly, that's a problem. He also made some bad decisions in the passing game, which is always a real big red flag for me. We don't throw the ball much, but when we do we can't afford to turn the ball over."